Chapter 1 - Brian Brian Kinney sat in silence staring at the wall in the hospital corridor. Unbidden memories flooded back. He remembered ever look, every touch, every sound and every taste that was Justin Taylor. Not a boy in a man's world, as some might believe, but a man in a boy's body. How could his life be so fragile? How could Brian have taken it all for granted? He ran his hand down his face and stared in amazement at the tears he'd been completely unaware of shedding. Big bad Brian Kinney. What a joke. He sensed a presence then felt a hand stroking the back of his neck. Michael. He should be with David right now on his way to Portland, but Brian had called him. Had needed him. The Brian Kinney who never needed anyone needed Michael more than anyone else in the world. Well, except for maybe Justin. Brian knew that they would be there soon. He would feel the glares from his friends as they accused him with their eyes if not their words. Then there would be Debbie and, oh God, Jennifer. What would he say to them? He had no idea. He had fucked up and it was killing him inside. "Brian?" The voice was almost too low to hear. Brian looked up into the tear stained face of Daphne. Before he could respond, she fell crying into his arms. Brian's heart broke with every gut-wrenching sob that racked her petite form. Not usually the physical type, Brain actually pulled the girl closer to him holding her tightly. He looked down at the top of her head as she gripped his forearms in an attempt to find comfort. As he stared down at her, Brian wished for perhaps the millionth time that he knew how to make it right again. But, he didn't. Brain held Daphne as she cried until the girl's mother pulled her away and gathered her into her own arms. Brian envied Daphne that comfort, that touch. "Brian, Mom and Jennifer are here." Michael said softly. Brian heard him, but couldn't take his eyes off the receding image of Daphne and her mother. Wouldn't it be wonderful, Brian thought, to have Joanie gather me into her arms right now. He decided it would be and he literally ached with the need to be held. He stood up then, but didn't really know where he had planned to go. Suddenly arms surrounded his waist. He looked down expecting to see Debbie, but instead saw the top of a blonde head. Jennifer? With her arms wrapped tightly around Brain, Jennifer buried her face in the folds of his jacket. Brian felt her hot tears through the silk shirt he wore. A shirt that was stained with the blood of this woman's son. Time seemed to stand still as Jennifer held Brian. She pulled back and looked up into his bewildered eyes. She wiped at her own tears, then took Brian's face in her hands and gently wiped his tears away with her thumbs. "Jennifer, I. . ." Brian trailed off not really knowing what to say. Jennifer smiled sadly and nodded as if she understood all that he could not say. "I know, Brian." She said as she pulled him back into her arms. "I know." Brian nodded and allowed Jennifer to comfort him as he tried to comfort her as well. "I am so sorry." Brian whispered. Jennifer pulled away from him then. "This is not your fault, Brian. Unless you gave that Hobbs boy the bat, this is not your fault." She brushed his hair from his eyes. "Not your fault." She repeated. She smiled sadly again before pulling away to go with Debbie to find out Justin's condition. Brian stared after her not knowing what else to do. He sat back down and continued to stare at the wall. Chapter 2 - Jennifer Jennifer Taylor sat numbly staring into space. She knew why she was in the hospital and figured she should have been a lot more upset than she was. Silent tears tracked their way down her face, but she could never act hysterical. She had always been the strong one. It was a trait that she had definitely passed on the Justin. Justin. She thought and her heart shattered at the very thought of losing her little boy. Jennifer glanced across the waiting room and caught a glimpse of Brian still sitting on a bench in the hallway. He looked so lost. For a second or two she wondered if she wore a similar expression. Probably. She thought. Jennifer had meant what she had said to Brian. He was not to blame for Justin's injuries. Chris Hobbs had harassed Justin for months. If any one was to blame, it was her. If only she had stood up more forcibly with the principal at St. James. Maybe she could have gotten him to do something. Then again if she had just stood up to Craig, neither she nor Justin would be in this situation right now. Justin would have been safe at home. If only. She thought. What if. Words of dreamers, Jennifer, words of dreamers. Suddenly a thought came to mind of an old saying about 'if a frog had wings' and she had to fight the urge to break into hysterical laughter. "Jennifer?" Debbie said softly. Jennifer forced herself to focus on the woman's face. "Vic and I are going to get some coffee, would you like something?" "Could you get me a bottle of water, please?" Jennifer asked. "Sure." Debbie said and squeezed Jennifer's arm before following Vic to the door of the waiting room and disappearing down the hall. "Mrs. Taylor?" Jennifer looked up to see Daphne. "My mom says I have to go home now. Can you call me if anything happens?” "Of course, I will." Daphne leaned in for a short hug and walked to her mother's side. Jennifer smiled weakly at Daphne's mother as the woman gathered Daphne into her arms and allowed the girl to lean on her as they walked toward the elevator. A few minutes after Daphne and her mother disappeared into the elevator, Jennifer heard a commotion in the hallway. She was almost certain that she heard Craig's voice. Confused she walked out of the waiting room. The scene before her seemed almost surreal as she watched Michael and Molly trying to keep Craig away from Brian. Craig was yelling for them to let him go as he continued to lunge at Brian. Molly was crying and shouting at her father to just stop. At the sight of Molly's tears, Jennifer suddenly found her voice. "Craig?" She yelled. Craig Taylor stopped suddenly at the sound of his ex-wife's voice. Anger flashed in his eyes as he crossed to Jennifer. "What the hell is going on here, Jenn?" he asked through clenched teeth. "Why are these people here?" He made a sweeping motion with his hand to include a small group of people that Jennifer had come to know pretty well in a short period of time. "And him." Craig said pointing at Brian. "I don't want him any where near my son." "Your son?" Jennifer asked. "Your son?" Jennifer raised her hands in dismay. "So, now he's your son. After all these months when you wouldn't even speak to him much less claim him as your son, you want to charge in here and start deciding who stays and who goes. You never cease to amaze me, Craig." Jennifer closed her eyes. "These people have been more like family to Justin than you have been lately." Craig stared at her as if she had suddenly started speaking a language he didn't understand. "You threw him out of the house. Where was he supposed to go? Who was he supposed to turn to? I'll tell you where he turned. He turned to them. To those people. You know why? Because they didn't judge him. They accepted him regardless of who he choose to. . . to fuck." Fresh tears spilled from Jennifer's eyes. "I think you should leave." "I have every right. . ." Craig started. "You have no rights where Justin is concerned." Jennifer interrupted. "I don't want you anywhere near my son. Now, go." Craig opened his mouth to say something. "No, I won't argue. Please, don't force me to call security." Craig stepped away from Jennifer. He looked toward Molly. "Come on, Molly." He called. Molly just stared at him wide eyed and retreated behind Debbie. "Molly." Craig said more sternly. "No." Molly said from her hiding place. "All right." Craig said. "But this is not over, Jenn. Not by a long shot." "Still the 'Big Man', aren't you?" Jennifer said. "Well, you listen to me, Big Man. When you finally pull your head out of your ass and realize how special your son truly is, I hope to God it won’t be too late. Good-bye, Craig." Craig stood staring for several seconds and when it seemed as if he might start yelling at Jennifer, Brian found his feet and moved between them. "Go." He said in a low yet firm voice. Craig looked up sharply at Brian. There was no mistaking the threat behind Brian's tone of voice. Refraining from saying anything more, Craig just clenched his jaw and stormed toward the exit. "Thank you." Jennifer said to Brian. Once again Brian found himself being pulled into a firm embrace. He returned the hug briefly before pulling away and walking slowly back to the bench he'd been sitting on ever since Justin had been brought in. Chapter 3 – Ted & Emmett Ted sat down next to a shell-shocked looking Emmett. Ted had not seen that look on Emmett's face since they had sat waiting for an hour and a half for Emmett's HIV test results. He sat down next to the other man startling him. Emmett looked at Ted and sniffed. "You okay?" Ted asked. Emmett shook his head no. "Penny for your thoughts?" Emmett sniffed again and shrugged. "I was just thinking about helping Justin get ready for the prom earlier tonight. He looked absolutely beautiful. Truly lived up to his nickname. A gorgeous ray of sunshine." Ted put his arm around Emmett's shoulders. "He was excited, too. He and Daphne were going to have a wonderful night together. Then for something like this to happen." His voice cracked and he shook his head again. "It's just not right." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "We have to stay positive, Em." Ted encouraged gently. "We have to believe he'll come back to us." Emmett looked up at Ted then. "I could never give up on him." Emmett said bluntly. "Just like I could have never given up on you after the overdose." Ted became uncomfortable at the mention of his drug overdose. "Even when your doctor said you might never wake up, I still stayed positive. I just knew you had to be hanging out somewhere waiting to see if anyone would notice that you weren't there." Emmett smiled through his tears suddenly. "It totally figures that hearing Brian fuck would wake you up." Ted rolled his eyes and chuckled lightly. "Probably thought it was that hottie from CumQuick.com." Ted smiled and pulled Emmett closer to him placing a small kiss on the top his best friend's head. "This is so fucking scary, Teddy. I mean that could be any one of us in there. I always knew there were people like Chris Hobbs in the world, but I never knew anyone who had ever been the victim of one of them." "You'd be surprised just how many Chris Hobbs' there are in the world." Ted said gravely. "More than I care to think about. Consequently, what happened to Justin is one of the reasons some of us stay in the closet except to our close friends." "Have you ever experienced a 'Chris Hobbs', Teddy?" Emmett asked suddenly serious. "Not personally." Ted replied. "I did see it happen to a guy I went to college with." Emmett shifted to look at Ted. "He was gay. He was out and proud. Reminded me of you." Emmett smiled. "One of the guys in the dorm caught Eugene, that was his name, and his boyfriend making out in his room." Ted's face darkened. "This guy, some jock, I guess, and his friends dragged the two of them out of the room and beat them half to death." "Oh my God." Emmett breathed. "Those of us who saw it felt helpless." Ted looked down at his feet ashamed. "I called the police and waited with Eugene and his boyfriend until the ambulance go there. He left school after that and never came back. I know they were all right, I mean they survived the beating and all, but where they are today is anybody's guess." Emmett squeezed Ted's hand. "I was frightened into silence. I never told a soul what I was while I was in college. I didn't want to be like Eugene." "I can understand that." Emmett said nodding his head. "I remember when I told my parents I was gay. Mother got very quiet. She just stared at me, but my father got angry. In a way, Justin's dad is very much like my own." Emmett pursed his lips. "My mother's friend, Marie Mattingly, slapped me dead across the face and told me that I was going to hell if I didn't 'stop being queer'." Emmett sniffed and tears slipped from his eyes once again. "She told me that I was a disappointment. Me, a disappointment. That hurt more that the slap to the face." He sighed. "I knew then and there that I could never stay in Mississippi. I had to leave. How I ended up in Pittsburgh is still a mystery, but I have some amazing friends here." "You could never be a disappointment Emmett." Ted said and kissed Emmett on the cheek. "You are a queen among us lowly commoners." Emmett kissed Ted's hand and put his head back on Ted's shoulder. "Thank you, Teddy." Emmett whispered. Ted just pulled his friend closer and stared in the direction of the waiting room door. His words from his HIV test ringing in his ears. 'We wait.' Chapter 4 – David & Michael Interlude David figured he had really fucked things up this time. He had lost Michael for good. As the plane began to taxi down the runway, he sat staring at the empty seat next to him. He felt a huge lump in his throat. He began to run the events of the last few days over in his head. He realized, now that it was too late, the numerous snide remarks Michael had made as he had been left out of decision after decision. Fuck. David cursed to himself. I am such an asshole. He laid his head back against the headrest and cursed himself again. Michael was gone. Maybe forever. The plane ride turned into slow torture as David remembered the look on Michael's face at their farewell party. 'How could I do that to Michael' became his on-going mantra as he relived every talk, every argument. What the fuck was I thinking? He asked himself. By the time he reached Portland, David felt like shit and on top of it all he had to explain to Hank just why Michael wasn't with him. Hank is going to kick my ass. Was David's last thought as he walked down the ramp to the terminal. Lost in his own thoughts, David almost didn't hear Hank call out to him. "Dad!" Hank called excitedly. David smiled and hugged his son as Laurie looked on. Hank looked around confused. "Where's Michael?" David winced and said. "Let's go home and I'll explain." "What happened?" Hank asked not put off in the least by David's calm tone. "It's a long story and I'll tell you everything when we get home." Hank rolled his eyes and hurried over to the luggage carousel. On the drive from the airport, Hank babbled on and on about school and hockey and everything that had happened since David had last been there. David only half listened. When Hank asked him a question he didn't hear, Laurie nudged him. "Oh, what?" Hank glared at him. "I'm sorry, son. What did you ask?" "Michael's not coming, is he?" Hank asked. "I don't know for sure, but I'd say no." David said. "Damn it, Dad." David looked up sharply. "Watch your language, young man." "Screw that." Hank snapped. "What did you do?" David took a long breath and slumped in his seat. "I was just stupid." Hank fell silent as Laurie pulled the car into their driveway. David sat silently shaking his head. Without another word, the three of them got out of the car and grabbed David's bags. Once inside, David looked at the expectant faces of his son and ex-wife. "Why am I so. . . stupid?" David asked. "What happened, Dad?" David told them everything from making all the plans to dismissing Michael all together. Hank actually snorted a laugh when David told them that Michael had accused him of treating him like a child or 'trophy wife'. A stern look from Laurie had caused the boy to redden and cough an apology. "What am I going to do?" David asked. "Well," Laurie began, "I suggest food and sleep. You can figure the rest out in the morning." She gave him a tired smile. "Go ahead and crash in the guest bedroom, David. No sense heading to the new place till tomorrow." David nodded and headed up the stairs. Laurie touched his hand suddenly making David turn to face her. "It'll be okay." David gave her a sad smile and continued up the stairs. The following morning, David caught a ride with Laurie to his new house. Was supposed to be 'ours'. David thought sadly. 'Ours'. What a joke. I made Michael feel like an outsider in 'our' relationship. I'm an idiot. A fucking idiot. David was in the midst of a real pity party when his cell phone rang. He took a deep breath and flipped it open. "Hello." "David?" "Michael?" "Well, now that we know who we are." Michael said. David felt tears sting his eyes. "I wanted to call you and let you know that. . ." "I'm so sorry Michael." David interrupted. "What can I do? Name it and I'll change. I promise." "David. David!" Michael said. "The first thing you can do is let me finish." David apologized and waited for Michael to continue. "I was at the airport last night. I was on the ramp to the plane." Michael heard a surprised gasp on the other end of the phone. "Then, I got a call on my cell phone. And before you ask, yes, it was from Brian." David bit his bottom lip. "Justin was bashed last night, David." "What!?!" "At the prom, in the parking garage for the hotel." Michael stopped. "It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I just want you to know that I was there. I was getting on the plane. I had to come back here and not just for Brian. I had to for my mom and for Jennifer. You understand that, right?" "Of course." David said. "I don't know when I'll get to Portland now." Michael explained. "I have to see what's going to happen to Justin. And my Mom needs me right now." "Yes, yes." David said. "Does this mean that you and I are okay?" "Not quite, but we can get there." Michael said honestly. "You have to admit that you're a control freak and I have to not let you get away with it." David smiled. "We can do that." "Yeah." David heard the smile on Michael's face. "I'll call you again when I get to my mom's later, okay?" "Yeah, whenever you can." "I love you, David." "I love you, too, Michael." Michael hung up, but David stared at the phone for quite sometime before flipping it shut. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, I haven't lost him forever. He smiled, took a deep breath and said a little prayer for himself as well as Justin. Chapter 5 - Lindsay Lindsay sat cradling Gus in her arms as she stared into space. She thought she knew what it was like to be exhausted, but the last few hours had proven her wrong. She looked up to see that Melanie had begun to nervously pace in front of the nurse's station again. They were both running on nervous energy and adrenaline. All the while Gus lay sleeping in her arms as if nothing in the world were wrong. Lindsay had felt an immediate kinship to Justin. Maybe it was their common interest in art. Maybe it was Justin's amazing magnetism. He exuded a sense of innocence and light that everyone wanted to be near. Probably why Brian kept him around. She thought. Gus positively adored the teen. And now. . . Her thoughts trailed off as Melanie sat down next to her. "Let me take him for a while, Babe." Melanie said and reached for Gus. Lindsay smiled a thank you and kissed Melanie before standing up to stretch and look for a ladies room. When she walked out of the ladies room, Lindsay caught sight of Brian sitting in the hallway. Michael sat next to him trying to comfort him, but it appeared that Brian was inconsolable. Brian still wore his bloodstained tux and had the stained scarf around his neck. Deciding to make enough of an issue about it to get Brian to change clothes and wash up, she crossed to where he and Michael were sitting. Michael looked up at Lindsay with sleep-deprived eyes. "Let me sit with him for a little bit, Michael." Lindsay said squeezing Michael's shoulder. Michael nodded and stood up. He gave Lindsay a quick hug before wandering down the hall. "Bri?" Brian didn't respond or even move. "Brian? We need to get you cleaned up a little." Brian turned toward her and stared as if he'd never seen her before as tears continued to slip silently down his face. Lindsay was sure she'd never seen him look so vulnerable. She smiled sadly and continued. "You're still covered in Justin's blood. You don't want to see him like this, do you?" Brian looked down at himself and shook his head slightly. "But, I can't leave." Brian said. A clear sound of desperation in his words. "I know." Lindsay said soothingly. "Michael and Mel could go to the loft and get you some clothes. I'm sure they have a shower around here somewhere." Lindsay felt very maternal suddenly. It was as though she were talking to Gus. "You could shower and put on some scrubs maybe until they get back." Brian stared at her confused. "You don't want to look like a train wreck when he wakes up, do you?" Brian shook his head. "Okay then, come on." Brian allowed himself to be led down the hall. Lindsay spoke briefly to Michael and Melanie. Melanie agreed without an argument. She simply kissed Lindsay on the cheek, handed Gus over to Debbie, and grabbed her keys. At the nurse's station a single nurse sat staring at a computer screen. Lindsay noticed that the woman was playing solitaire. As soon as the nurse saw her, she closed her game and walked to the counter. "I was just wondering if there was some place that my friend could get cleaned up." Lindsay said indicating Brian. "He really doesn't want to leave, but he needs to take a shower." The nurse looked up and nodded. "I see. We don't normally let people do this, but I can grab him some scrubs from the locker room and let him use the patient shower." Lindsay nodded. "That would be great. Thank you so much." The nurse smiled and disappeared into a back storage area. She emerged a few minutes later with a set of doctor's scrubs, a small towel and a bar of hospital issue soap. "The patient shower is just passed the restrooms." "Thanks again." Lindsay said and led Brian away to the shower room. "Just hand me your clothes and I'll put them in a plastic bag, okay?" Brian didn't respond just walked into the shower room. The door opened a few minutes later and Lindsay took Brian's clothes from him. She stuffed them into a plastic bag she had found on a housekeeping cart. She'd take them to the car when Melanie got back. There was little else to do but wait as Lindsay listened to the water run in the small shower room. After several minutes the water stopped, but Lindsay realized that Brian was taking far too long to dry himself. "Brian?" She called. "Brian, are you all right?" When he didn't answer, Lindsay became concerned. She opened the door and found Brian slumped down on the floor of the shower naked and sobbing. Stifling her own emotions, Lindsay gently helped Brian to his feet and started to towel him off. She got him into the scrubs and helped him out of the shower room. All the while, Brian could not stop the sobs that wracked his body. She sat them both down on the bench Brian had been sitting on and held him close. She tried soothing him the way she did Gus when the baby was fussy. Brian clung to her like a drowning man to a float. Eventually, Brian calmed down the same way Gus always did and before Lindsay knew it Brian was asleep in her arms. As she sat in that lonely hallway, Lindsay cursed Chris Hobbs. She rarely ever felt true hate for anyone. She had always believed that there was good in everyone. That was the very reason she had never given up on Brian. But Chris Hobbs. . . he was another story. "Bastard." Lindsay whispered and continued to rock the sleeping man in her arms. Chapter 6 - Justin Justin really wanted to wake up. He literally needed to wake up just to prove to himself that he was indeed still alive. His last coherent memory was of Brian calling out to him and then turning into a baseball bat being swung at his head. It had been a moment of slow motion clarity. Justin could even remember the expression of surprise and horror on Brian's face as he tried to get to Justin before the bat connected. He remembered the tight grimace on Chris Hobbs' face as he swung the bat with all his might. After crumpling to the ground, Justin could vaguely remember hearing Hobbs cry out in pain and then Brian's voice very near him repeating the word 'no' over and over again. Then came the darkness. When the darkness overcame Justin, the pain had been abruptly silenced which was good, but, so had his ability to see, hear, and feel. This darkness was scary and above all lonely. He would have given anything at that moment to have awakened in Brian's loft from a bad dream. To have Brian take all the darkness and it's emptiness away. In the last few, what?, minutes?, hours?, Justin had begun to discern noises around him. At first, the noises had only been a jumble, but he slowly began to tell the difference between the rustle of a uniform as the nurses and doctors moved around him and their voices. Now, he could even tell the voices apart. His mother and Debbie had stood next to his bed and had a lengthy discussion about what had happened to him and their strong desire for him to wake up. They had sniffed and cried and talked for what seemed like hours and Justin tried very hard to focus on his 'mothers' and try to pull himself toward their voices. The effort had made him tired and the darkness engulfed him once more. He slept, well, it wasn't exactly sleep, but he did indeed rest and he felt stronger when he once again heard voices around him. This time he heard what sounded like Emmett reading something. It took Justin a few seconds to realize that Emmett was reading a magazine article to him. It wasn't very interesting, but Emmett's voice was soothing and Justin once again concentrated on moving up and out of the darkness. He wanted so much to open his eyes and see the expression on Em's face when he saw his 'baby' looking up at him. Again the stress of it hit Justin like a ton of bricks and he was forced to rest once again. He had no idea how long he'd been resting when he suddenly felt a familiar presence. When Brian spoke to him, Justin's heart soared. He knew right then and there that he had to wake up while Brian was in the room and to hell with this coma shit. "Baby?" Brian said. "Can you really hear me?" Justin wanted to say something but couldn’t. Don’t stop talking, Brian. Please. Just don’t stop talking. "The doctor seems to think that you can hear us when we talk to you now." Brian was saying. "I just don't know what to say to you. Do you remember when we danced, Justin?" Brian asked. Yes. "You were absolutely beautiful." Brian whispered. His lips were so close to Justin that he could feel them as they brushed his face just below his ear. "I just had to show you off. I had to let everyone know that you were mine. That Justin Taylor belongs to Brian Kinney. Period. End of sentence." I am yours, Brian. Always. "In that moment a few things became very clear to me." Brian took Justin's hand in his own. "The most important is that I have no idea what I would do if all of a sudden you just weren't there anymore." Brian sniffed and Justin heard the crack in his voice. "You little fuck. You got under my skin and simply refused to be ignored." Brian then brushed his lips over Justin's knuckles. "I told you once that I didn't believe in love. And I didn't. Then after Mikey's birthday you told me in the loft that day, you remember, the ice cream." Brain paused a moment and Justin could picture that day as clearly as if it had just happened. How could I forget "Anyway, you told me that day in the loft that you were 'on to me' and that I could never push you away as I had Michael." Brian was rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of Justin's hand. "I thought you were stupid to think that you somehow saw something in me that even I couldn't see. I blew you off that day, but in the hallway of this hospital, as I have sat and waited, I've thought about what you said that day, and I suddenly realized that you were right." A small sob escaped Brian. "You are on to me. I broke all my rules for you. Because of you. And now, you can't just leave me like this." Brian, I'm here. I’m here. "I need you, Justin." Brian said in a whispered sob. "Justin, baby, I love you." I love you, too, Brian! Justin wanted to scream it at the top of his lungs. I love you, too! "Come back to me, baby." Brian breathed. "I can't do this alone. Not anymore. And, I don't want to do it at all without you." Brian laid his head on the bed at Justin's side and allowed himself to weep. Justin knew that it was now or never. He pushed through the darkness and his eyes fluttered trying to open. Brian was unaware of the struggle going on inside the young man next to him. He was, at the moment, lost in his own grief and pain. Justin finally forced his eyes opened and looked down at the top of Brian's head. "Bri-an." He croaked. Brian's head snapped up. "Justin!" Brian nearly crushed the young man as he pulled him into his arms. Justin groaned and Brian pulled away. "Oh, God. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" Justin nodded slightly and Brian smiled. "Welcome back." Justin tried to smile too, but just didn't have the energy. Brian ran to the door. He said something to someone in the hallway and soon a sobbing Jennifer Taylor walked into the room. "Oh God. Oh God." Was all Jennifer could manage. "Justin, baby." Justin managed a weak grin and closed his eyes once more. "Tired." He said. "Of course you are, sweetie." Jennifer said. "You rest now." As Justin closed his eyes, Jennifer turned to Brian and threw her arms around his neck. "He's back." She said. "He's really back." Brian accepted Jennifer's hug once again and felt tears creeping down his face. They stood there for what seemed like forever just watching the gentle rise and fall of Justin's easy breathing. Brian pulled his cell phone out of his inner jacket pocket. "Time for an instant party." He said and dialed the first phone number he thought of. He wanted to just rush up to the hospital roof and just yell for them. He smiled stupidly and fought off the hysterical laughter that threatened as he waited for someone, anyone, to pick up the phone at the Novotny home. The End.